Pioneering African American Hollywood Actresses: Nina Mae McKinney, Fredi Washington, Lena Horne, and Hazel Scott

After making One Mile From Heaven (1937), Fredi stopped making movies. She returned to the theater and found modest success. Fredi's most important work was as an advocate for African Americans. In 1937, she found the Negro Actors Guild of America, hoping to find more opportunities for African Americans. She also wrote about theater for The People's Voice. In the early 50s, Fredi served as a casting consultant for movies such as Carmen Jones (1953). Ultimately, Fredi made a strong cultural impact, both in her performances and through dedicated work to advance her race. She eventually settled in Connecticut where she died of pneumonia in 1994.

Lena Horne
June 30, 1917 (Brooklyn, NY)

Lena Horne was the first African American woman to be groomed for Hollywood stardom. As a teenager, she danced at the famous Cotton Club. In 1934, she made her Broadway debut. Her first movie role was in The Duke is Tops (1938). Though she wasn't originally the star, when she became famous the movie was re-released as Bronze Venus with Lena's name above the title. Though she moved to California in the forties for a club engagement, she ended up staying to make movies.

Lena signed an MGM contract with the condition that she would never play a maid. Her first Hollywood role was as a nightclub singer in Panama Hattie (1942); it was to be a familiar part throughout her movie career. Lena's scenes were not essential to the plots of her movies; that way, they could be removed for audiences in the south who did not want to see a glamorous African American woman. With the exception of the all-black musicals Cabin in the Sky (1943) and Stormy Weather (1943), Lena never had a starring role.

Lena felt the pain of racism most when MGM filmed a remake of Show Boat in 1951. Lena wanted desperately to play Julie, a tragic mulatto singer. She had already sung a song from the show in Till the Clouds Roll By, a 1947 biopic of songwriter Jerome Kern. However, she lost the part to pal Ava Gardner because the studio refused to show an interracial couple onscreen (Gardner was furious that Lena didn't get the role.) Ironically, though her voice was eventually dubbed, Gardner practiced singing to recordings Lena had made in hopes of getting the role.

After the 40s, Lena made fewer movies.

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